This piece of equipment is one of the most important pieces of equipment in your tools for standpipe operations. It is second only to your hose and nozzles. It's selection and use it just as important as hose and nozzle selection. Unfortunately, it is one of the most overlooked and least understood pieces as well. By placing this inline gauge on the standpipe outlet you are in essence moving the engine's pump panel to the floor below the fire. As a nozzle man, can you imagine not having an AO or engineer there to set the correct pressure? Thats what you are trying to do if you do not have an inline gauge. More often than not when people complain about nozzle whip it’s due to incorrect pressures. This is especially the case with 2” and 2.5” hose. The gauge is crucial to make sure you are not killing your guys in the line. Standpipes are low pressure systems. Depending on the year that the system was installed the minimum required pressures are 65 psi and 100 psi. Sometimes due to PRV's, incorrect PDP pressures from the engine, or misinstallation of equipment during the building process, you may have pressures even lower. Look up One Meridian Plaza fire. They had standpipe pressures as low as 45 psi. A note on use: To obtain accurate readings, the nozzle must be open fully and flowing water when the "control man" dials in the pressure. The static pressure when the nozzle is closed will read much higher than the flow pressure when the nozzle is open. Also, a trick of the trade is to use a label maker and place the needed pressures for your size hose, at 150', 200', and 250' lays, so you aren't doing the hand method when you should be putting water on the fire. These gauges are important!! If your department won't buy you one get some guys together and buy your company one.See More

Last week we discussed NFPA 14 and the design standards and required static and residual pressure parameters for installation. It is important to remember that standpipe systems designed prior to 1993 have a required operating pressure between 65 psi and 100 psi. Standpipe systems designed Post 1993 have a required residual pressure between 100 psi and 175 psi. Outlets are required to produce 250 GPM. REMEMBER, if the standpipe valve is a Pressure Reducing Valve, it does not matter how much pressure the fire department pumper pumps into the system, you WILL NOT get more pressure than the valve is set to give you. Also remember, NFPA 13 specifically recommends the use of 2.5” hose for standpipe operations because of these factors. Smooth bore nozzles can be operated at nozzle pressures from 40 to 60 psi. Obviously, the less the nozzle pressure, the less the nozzle reaction and GPM. The more the nozzle pressure, the more the nozzle reaction and the more the GPM flowed. Below are typical nozzle tip sizes with flows at 40, 50, and 60 psi that you may see on different high-rise packs: 15/16" – 165 GPM @ 40 psi, 185 GPM @ 50 psi, 202 GPM @ 60 psi 1" – 188 GPM @ 40 psi, 210 GPM @ 50 psi, 230 GPM @ 60 psi 1 1/16” – 212 GPM @ 40 psi, 237 @ 50 psi, 260 @ 60 psi 1 1/8 " – 238 GPM @ 40 psi, 266 GPM @ 50 psi, 291 GPM @ 60 psi 1 3/16" – 265 GPM @ 40 psi, 296 GPM @ 50 psi, 324 GPM @ 60 psi 1 1/4" – 293 GPM @ 40 psi, 328 GPM @ 50 psi, 359 GPM @ 60 psi You may find 15/16" tips on 1.75" hose and 2" hose. The 1" tip is a common tip for 2" hose. The 1 1/16” tip is a lesser known but great tip for 2” hose. With it, you can achieve near commercial flows if you have enough pressure. If you have enough pressure, you can achieve the flow the 1 1/8” tip. The 1 1/8 tip can be used on 2" hose or 2.5" hose. If used on 2" hose expect high PDP that will exceed most standpipe capabilities. More often than not, you will find departments that use this set up coming off an engine for their commercial flow. The 1 3/16" tip has been called "the missing tip". It is relatively new. At a NP of 40 psi it flows 265 psi, the equivalent of a 1 1/8” tip and when over pumped at 60 psi it flows 324 GPM, which is the equivalent of a 1 1/4" nozzle at 50 psi. Lastly, the the 1 1/4 tip is used by departments across the country. It has a high nozzle reaction and by many is considered too much for a two man nozzle team. Departments with heavy manning, such as Chicago, use this tip. A couple of words on nozzle reaction. Dennis Legear, (google Legear Engineering Consultants) has stated that the recommended maximum nozzle reaction for 2 people on a line is 115 lbs. A 1 1/8" nozzle pumped at 50 psi produces a nozzle reaction of 99 lbs. A 1 3/16" nozzle at 50 psi produces 111 lbs. Hose and nozzle selection is important. The two go hand in hand. When choosing your weapons, you want high-volume, low-pressure systems with acceptable nozzle reaction. Departments across the country use anything from 1.75” hose to 2.5” hose for their standpipe operations. It is important to spec your hose and nozzle package for your jurisdiction. If all of your mid rise and high rise buildings were built post 1993 then 2” hose may be a very acceptable choice for you. If your jurisdiction has mostly buildings built prior to 1993, then you should be strongly considering the use of 2.5” hose because of the 65 psi to 100 psi range. Another thing to think of when choosing hose size is the type of occupancy your buildings are. If all your high rise buildings are hotels or apartment type buildings that are compartmentalized then lower flows such as the 210 or 240 GPM range may be acceptable to you. If you have commercial, open floor plans that present the opportunity for rapid fire growth, then you will want to consider higher flows that come for the 1 1/8” and 1 3/16” tip. It is extremely important to remember the staffing levels should not decide what size hose you buy and use. The fire decides what size hose you should be using. My department has long used 1.75” for standpipe operations. Up until a few months ago, we did not even have 2.5” hose at the department. Now, some of our newer engines are running pre-connected 2.5” with play pipe style nozzles. Before this we used 3” hose strictly as defensive exterior hose lines. When the last hose order was placed, we purchased 2” hose with 2.5” couplings as well as new “offensive” nozzles for this hose. We have 8 companies with this new set up. Most of our buildings are Pre 1993 NFPA 14, including the Top Ten Tallest Buildings in the city which are a mix of commercial and residential. Because of this, for our jurisdiction, I’m an outspoken proponent of 2.5” hose. However, as stated above, we will have a mix of 2” hose with 1” tips, and 1.75” hose with 15/16” tips anytime we get a high rise fire. Below I’ll break down FL for a few different hose sizes at different lengths so that you can see where certain packages are not acceptable for Pre 1993 NFPA 14 systems. 1.75" hose with a 15/16" tip flows 185 gpm. - 150 ft lay - 80 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 135 psi - 200 ft lay - 106 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 161 psi - 250 ft lay - 133 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 188 psi 2" hose with 2.5" couplings with a 1" tip flows 210 gpm - 150 ft lay - 37 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 92 psi - 200 ft lay - 49 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 104 psi - 250 ft lay - 62 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 117 psi 2.5" hose with a 1 1/8" tip flows 265 gpm - 150 ft lay - 21 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 76 psi - 200 ft lay - 28 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 83 psi - 250 ft lay - 35 psi FL + 50 psi NP + 5 psi elevation = 90 psi All of these FL figures are text book except for the 2” hose. The 2” hose FL numbers are for our Firequip 2” hose at my department. As always, know your hose. When purchasing hose, have the hose manufacture flow test hose for you so you can see the actual flows. There are 1.75” with half the text book FL. Also, some 2.5” hose may be closer to 3” and have less FL. Look back across the FL numbers above. The 2.5” hose is the only hose that has all operating pressures between the minimum and the maximum allowed pressures in a Pre 1993 standpipe system and the lowest required pressure is still 10 more psi than the minimum allowed pressure of a pre 1993 system. Remember for standpipe operations, we want a high-volume, low pressure weapon. We want commercial flow capabilities even on residential high rises. A couple of reasons are due to the possibility of wind driven fires and due to "reflex time". Reflex time is the time from when you arrive on scene to the time water goes on the fire. What might be a small kitchen fire when you arrive could very well be pushing down a hallway by the time you are hooked up and ready to fight the fire. The average reflex time for high-rise fires is around 15 minutes. Remember, fire doubles in size every minute. Set yourself up for success by putting a 2.5" hose in service to start with. You will be covered for fire flow and for low pressures that may be found in standpipe systems. See More

This week we will be discussing NFPA 14 “Standard the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems”. Over the next two weeks we will discuss nozzle tip size and hose sizes for standpipe operations. This information from today will help set a background on the numbers that will be used over next few weeks. Warning: This post may be lengthy and somewhat boring but the information is crucial to understanding weapon selection. This is a small talk about a big subject. I first started studying high-rise buildings and systems four years ago. I was assigned downtown and at some point I began to realize just how complicated these systems were and how little most of the guys, across the fire service actually know. I chock it up to the “you don’t know what you don’t know” rule. I became intrigued and have read as many books and taken as many classes as I can get my hands on, getting the information from some of the smartest in the business. The following is just a brief overview of NFPA 14 and how it affects your operations when it comes to fighting fires in buildings with standpipes. As always with the fire service, you need to continually learn and I learned something new this week. Brian Brush posted an excellent article the other day and the link is included at the bottom. Hopefully one can see just from reading about NFPA 14 the need for smoothbore nozzles and 2.5” hose but brother Brush points out a whole other NFPA recommendation, NFPA 13E. Take the time to read his article afterwards. There are two different versions of NFPA 14 that are important to know about. They are generally referred to as Pre 1993 and Post 1993. Pre 1993 NFPA 14 required a residual pressure of 65 psi at the top most or most remote standpipe hose outlet (usually the roof). Post 1993 NFPA 14 the minimum pressure has been changed to 100 psi. These are minimum pressures. It is quite possible that the outlets may produce more pressure but unless you are out testing every outlet in the building, in every building, you have no way of knowing. Either Pressure Reducing Valves or Pressure Restricting Devices, collectively called Pressure Regulating Devices, are required by NFPA 14 to reduce pressures when excess pressure is in the system. If you think about it, the pressure imposed on the second floor outlet will be much more than the pressure imposed on the 30th floor outlet because of the head pressure. The fire pump may be putting out 300 psi to get 65 psi at the roof. The pressure on floor 2 is going to be a lot higher than 175 psi. These devices are required and installed to combat this effect. NFPA 14 states that when the static pressure at a 2.5” outlet exceeds 175 psi, a pressure regulating device must be installed to limit the static AND residual pressure to no more than 175 psi. However, the valves can be set to any number as long as it is above the minimum 100 psi (65 psi pre 1993) and below the maximum 175 psi (100 psi pre 1993) residual pressure. Pressure restricting devices reduce pressure and flow by interfering with or restricting the size of the orifice. They may be metal rings placed inside of the standpipe outlet to create a smaller orifice or they may be a stopper added to the standpipe wheel to keep it from opening past a certain point. There are multiple different types and you should research and become familiar with them all. These devices are not favored due to the many incidences where they have been improperly adjusted and severely hampered the firefighting efforts. When encountered they should be removed prior to connection fire department hoses or appliances. Above Photo: A Pressure Restricting DeviceThe more accurate and reliable devices are the pressure reducing valves. These are spring-activated valves, which maintain a constant flow pressure and gpm despite the system pressure. These valves can be either pre (factory) adjusted or field adjusted. The units that are factory adjusted are specific for each floor and great care must be taken during installation to ensure that they are on the proper floor. The field adjustable units are field calibrated once they are installed on the floor by a technician. Another small subset of field adjustable are what some people refer to as fireground adjustable. These can be adjusted by fire department personnel with the right know how and they require specific rods to manipulate. Pressure reducing valves are usually distinguishable by a large rim on the body of the outlet. Also, once the end cap has been removed the presence of a smooth stem is a direct sign of a pressure reducing valve. A non-pressure reducing valve would have a threaded stem. Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV) can also be installed at ceiling level, reducing pressure before water flows to the hose outlet or sprinkler system. Once again, there are plenty of different types of PRV’s and you should research and be familiar with each. If you jurisdiction has fireground adjustable PRVs you should make sure the adjusting rods are present during your PIPs and possibly carry some in your standpipe bag.Above Photo: A Pressure Reducing Valve - Notice the large rim around the outlet.One of the most famous high-rise fires where PRVs caused severe problems was One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia, where three firefighters were killed in the line of duty. Due to improperly installed factory preset pressure reducing valves, firefighters had standpipe outlet pressures around 45 psi. This case study is an important one in the history of high-rise tactics and equipment and showcases the need for low pressure weapons such as 2.5” hose and smoothbore nozzles. Lastly, we will talk about distance of travel. NFPA 14 requires that the distance of travel from an outlet be no more than 130 feet in non sprinklered buildings and no more than 200 feet in sprinklered buildings. If the distance of travel exceeds these numbers, then outlets are required to be placed in the hallways. All that is to say that if the building is built according to NFPA standards, any part of the building floor should be accessible with no more than 200 feet of hose from the standpipe outlet.Let’s throw a wrench in it though. Best and accepted practice is to make your standpipe connection on the floor below the fire. This easily adds a full 50 feet to your hose lay changing your maximum lay to 250 feet. Thanks for taking the time to read. Next week will apply all this knowledge towards making our hose and nozzle selections.Brian Brush's Article Linkhttp://community.fireengineering.com/m/blogpost?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A642236See More

The age old debate in the fire service among nozzle men is certainly smoothbore vs the combination fog nozzle. Both have their place in the fire service. Both have advantages and disadvantages. However, when it comes to standpipe operations their is only room for one, and that is the Smoothbore nozzle. Here are a couple of reasons why: 1) Pressure - Smoothbore nozzles are low pressure, they operate their rated flow at 50 psi. Why is this important in standpipe ops? Because standpipe systems are low pressure systems. They operate off of as little as 65 psi. We will get more in depth on that next week. Another reason, standpipe systems are notorious for failure and not providing the pressure that they should have. This is partly due to poor maintenance and/or improper installation. AND YOU SAY, BUT THEY MAKE LOW PRESSURE FOG NOZZLES!!! 2) Weight - The 2.5" smoothbore nozzle can weight as little as 2.5 pounds. Fog nozzles can weigh in excess of 5 pounds and some weigh near 10 pounds. I’ve been called a liar before so I’ve attached a picture of a 2.5” fog off on of my cities apparatuses with a picture showing the weight from the manufacturer. Granted, this is a play pipe style nozzle and I hope this is not what you are carrying on your standpipe packs. You are fixing to climb 30 stories; I don't know about you but I want to shed as much weight as possible. 3) Debris - Face it. Standpipe systems aren't maintained like they should be. Whether its sediment that has built up over the years or a skittles wrapper that a homeless person stuck down deep in the FDC, chances are you'll face some debris. A smoothbore is capable of passing much debris. A fog nozzle will not pass any. 4) Simplicity - The only moving part inside of your smoothbore is the ball valve. There are no baffles or springs. This means there is a lot less chances for things to go wrong when you are pushing down a hallway 30 stories up. A word for those that will argue they want the protection of the fog. As we all know, a wide fog pattern WILL push fire. You can say its not pushing, but in essence if the fire can't come past the wall of fog you have made it will head in the path of least resistance which is the other way. A wide fog pattern entrains air from behind you and moves it past the nozzle. Think about hydraulic ventilation. That’s how it works right?If you are in a commercial center core high-rise building, the path of least resistance is around the core and possibly coming back behind you. You could find your path of egress cut off. Also, this may force fire into void spaces and provide extension both horizontally and vertically.In the residential building, you are pushing the fire back down the hallway and into any apartment unit that has had a door left open as the occupants evacuated. The best protection is always flowing the proper amount of water at the right pressure. Also, I know a lot of departments run 1.75” for high rise operations. They carry them in 100 ft and 150 ft flat loads and call them house packs. Most of the time when the department uses this set up its for extending preconnects or connecting to a dead lay of 2.5” or 3” hose for a long stretch and they will have a fog nozzle on the end of it. That’s a great set up and their territory requires it. They still need to change the fog for a smoothbore. I know it may not be what you are use too but placing a smoothbore on it will help two ways. First, it’ll help keep PDP down on your long estate lay. Second, it’ll set you up for success in high rise operations, especially since you are running 1.75” hose and the recommended size is 2” or 2.5” for high rise operations, depending on your buildings. Hopefully you have found yourself convinced on the need to adopt a smoothbore nozzle for you standpipe operations. Next week we will go over NFPA 14 which will lead us into discussions about hose size and nozzle tip size selection.Our 2.5" fog play pipestyle nozzleOur 2.5" fog play pipe weight from manufacturerAbove is the weight of a typical 2.5" fog nozzle, non play pipe styleOur Crestar 2.5" nozzle on high rise packsThe weight of our 2.5" smoothbore on our high rise packsSee More

Today we will discuss the Denver Fold and the New York Fold. These two are my favorite folds. They meet all of the criteria laid out in last weeks article. They are broken down into 50’ sections, they fold easy, and they flake easy. The deployment of both is practically the same. If you want to see how to deploy them, and I recommend that, go to YouTube and search for the Denver Fold. There are plenty of videos from different departments including Chief McGrail of Denver that show the wet and dry stretch and how to accomplish each. Both of these folds have pro’s and con’s. It’s up to you and your agency to decide what works best for you. What may work for one department, may not work for the other. Pro's of the Denver Fold include that it can easily be carried over your SCBA cylinder leaving your hands free to carry tools and equipment. This set up is excellent for departments that do not have dedicated truck company operations or do not have enough truck companies to do all the truck work. If you work somewhere that as an engine company you may be responsible for doing all your own forcible entry work, then the Denver Fold would be an excellent one to consider. The picture below shows my past company, Engine 6 of Birmingham Fire at a high—rise fire this past spring. Our department uses the quint concept. As an engine or quint, you may be assigned engine or truck work. We carried our hose and standpipe bag as well as hooks and irons into the building that day. Our assignment out of lobby control was primary search on the floor above. We climbed the stairs, dropped our hose with fire attack and forced the door out of the stairwell for our search. Even if you have dedicated truck companies, the Denver Fold is an excellent option as it allows you to carry other things that will be needed like spare SCBA cylinders. The only con for me with the Denver Fold is that it is a little more complex to fold when creating it, some people seem to have a problem remembering how to fold it, but this is a training issue. With a little practice, it is easily remembered. The New York or FDNY fold is very easy to fold. It keeps the hose in 50’ sections. For me the con for the New York Fold is that it must be carried on your shoulder and balanced with a hand. If you work for a department where as an Engine company, you are strictly tasked with Engine work then this fold would be a great option. Another problem that I have noticed with this fold is that it does not work well with 1.75" hose. Both folds deploy easily and much in the same way. Below are some pictures of the folds being built.Denver:FDNY:See More

Departments that have standpipe equipped buildings should put serious thought into choosing a standpipe pack. The "we've always done it this way" mentality should not be a guiding factor. There are multiple different options for standpipe packs. Some are good, some are bad. Even the good ones have their positive and negative attributes. There are a few attributes you want to consider when deciding what fold to use. 1. Lightweight - There is no one size fits all standpipe pack. No one should be carrying 150 feet of hose by his or her self. Whatever pack you choose should be light weight and carried in 50' sections with each company member sharing some of the load (including the officer). This helps decrease the physical exertion by all members if you are having to take the stairs. Another reason to carry in 50’ sections is due to the codes surrounding standpipes, i.e. distances between standpipe outlets or the maximum allowed distance of travel from an outlet. This varies in sprinklered vs non-sprinklered buildings. You should at a minimum carry 150 feet of hose into the building with you because you will have close to 50 feet in the stairwell alone by hooking into the outlet on the floor below. 2. Easy to build - Choose a standpipe pack that is easy to build. Something that with a little practice all members can remember how to make. 3. Easy to flake - When using 50' sections, generally if they are easy to fold, then they are easy to flake out on the floor below and in the stair well. Marking your hose at the 25' mark on each section will make it easy to flake hose out. 4. Avoid gimmicks and sales tactics - Don't get caught up in high-rise hose bags. These push you towards the heavy load of carrying all hose in one bag. 150' of 1.75" with a gated wye can weigh in excess of 70 pounds. Imagine how that weight increases to if your department uses 2" or 2.5" hose. If you do use 1.75” hose, avoid the Cleveland load. The load is designed for small diameter hose with high pressure, developed for the forestry service. Standpipe systems can be operating off as little as 65 psi. The Cleveland load will become a mess of spaghetti if there is not proper pressure and if it is not set up perfectly. Even if it has enough pressure to “pop” the Cleveland load tends to have a near 180 degree kink each time you start to pull a part of the coil. Imagine you’ve made the fire room and go to open the nozzle and have decreased flow because of a kink in the stairwell. A few common loads are pictured below including The Denver Fold, The New York Fold, The Cleveland Load, and a Flat Load. Next week will discuss the Denver Fold and New York Fold.Fig A - The Denver FoldFig B - The FDNY or NY FoldFig C - The Cleveland FoldFig D - The Flat LoadSee More

Warning: Firefighting is a dangerous occupation. You will be exposed to low visibility and high heat situations. You will be expected to perform with professional athletic performance at the sound of a bell. No warm up. No do overs. No disappointed fans. This is life or death. “That’s no line man.”Standard. Noun meaning “a level of quality or attainment”. Fire departments across the United States have physical fitness standards that must be met to hire on. Most use the CPAT. Others use runs or PT test or a combination of all. When people think of the word standard when it comes to hiring, it’s usually in the context of the last part of the above definition, “attainment”. We set a standard and people must attain it to be hired. I’d like to focus on the first part of the definition, “a level of quality”. Does your department’s standard focus on quality? You can set a standard that anyone can attain, but are we doing ourselves or our citizens a favor by doing that? Departments across the country have been and are lowering their hiring standards to meet target recruitments. Are we doing anyone a favor when we do this? Some departments are under court ordered rulings. Some do it out of need for qualified candidates. It doesn’t matter what the reasons are, it needs to stop. Over the last couple of years there have been many fire service news articles surrounding a department in the north east that has had several women go to the field without passing standards. One, in 2015 could not pass the Functional Skills Test. It was completed only once and at nearly five minutes over the allotted time limit. Another, failed the run to graduate the academy in 2013. She was conditionally graduated and given five more attempts to pass over the next six months. After failing the 6th attempt, she resigned but was rehired for an academy class in 2015. Yet another, in 2015, failed to complete the FST and failed the 1.5 mile run. Instead she was allowed to demonstrate aerobic capacity on a stair master. She had reports of struggling to complete assigned tasks in the field and was injured on the job during routine firehouse work. It’s not just them. It’s happening all over the country. I understand the need to be inclusive. I’m not biased. I don’t care what race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion you are. You can either perform to standards or you can’t. And those standards need to be quality, not just attainable. Firefighting is life or death. I know that sounds cliche but it’s the truth. If you don’t believe it, you need to find another profession. The upper management folks that set standards for recruitment need to remember why we have standards. Hiring standards should be your minimum standards so that when recruits graduate the academy they surpass minimum PT requirements. Standards should not be lowered for members already in the field. The department should support overall health and wellness programs. The department should have and promote mandatory PT. If it’s a busy department, it may require rotating out of service schedules for 30 minutes at a time. There should be policy’s to hold employees accountable to the standards. There’s a department around my area that has strict PT standards and even weight limits. They are weighed every so often. They have policies for taking firefighters out of the field for failure to comply and keep standards. All to often we are loosing guys to cardiac events on the job. Fire ground, training, and even during PT test. All too often the knee jerk reaction is to lower standards so that the risk of an on duty injury or death during PT test is reduced but in-fact it should be the opposite. It should be a sign that standards need to be enforced. The overall guiding factor shouldn’t be what’s best for us. It should be what’s best for our citizens. What is best for them? It’s having firefighters physically capable of performing the job. And for the record this is something I personally struggle with. But I do my best to own it. That’s what we all should be doing. We are not all going to be firefighter calendar material but we all need to be able to do the job.See More